Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santa Marta vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Santa Marta is 4.0% cheaper than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 8.8% less in Santa Marta
Groceries: pay 10.4% less in Santa Marta
Transportation: pay 16.6% less in Santa Marta
Housing: pay 48.2% more in Santa Marta
Childcare: pay 22.7% less in Santa Marta
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.1% less in Santa Marta
Clothing: pay 22.5% more in Santa Marta

The cost of housing and clothing in Santa Marta are more expensive than in Lima. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Santa Marta.

Santa Marta vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Marta instead of Lima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.8% less for restaurants

	Lima	Santa Marta
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 PEN14.40	$3.88 COP14,761.42	-9.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.14 PEN24.00	$9.06 COP34,443.31	+26.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 PEN3.38	$0.72 COP2,755.46	-27.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 PEN2.19	$0.49 COP1,869.78	-24.7%
Average			-8.8%

Lima vs. Santa Marta - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.4% less for groceries

	Lima	Santa Marta
Bread 1 loaf	$2.67 PEN8.96	$1.73 COP6,560.63	-35.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.52 PEN15.19	$2.67 COP10,168.98	-40.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.76 PEN19.35	$4.60 COP17,508.46	-20.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.96 PEN9.96	$2.55 COP9,709.73	-13.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 PEN8.85	$2.76 COP10,504.77	+4.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 PEN3.41	$1.06 COP4,034.35	+4.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 PEN1.71	$0.36 COP1,383.77	-28.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 PEN1.94	$0.53 COP2,023.58	-7.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 PEN1.89	$0.58 COP2,202.13	+2.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 PEN1.55	$0.30 COP1,145.70	-34.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 PEN1.46	$0.67 COP2,529.48	+53.3%
Average			-10.4%

Lima vs. Santa Marta - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.6% less for transportation

	Lima	Santa Marta
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.20 PEN17.47	$3.91 COP14,856.37	-24.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.85 PEN76.80	$15.53 COP59,045.67	-32.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,990.85 PEN67,198.40	$20,963.08 COP79,711,656.05	+4.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.70 PEN72.96	$18.50 COP70,362.76	-14.7%
Average			-16.6%

Lima vs. Santa Marta - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.2% more for housing

	Lima	Santa Marta
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.99 PEN83.99	$20.70 COP78,727.56	-17.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$661.42 PEN2,223.35	$291.15 COP1,107,106.33	-56.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$374.24 PEN1,257.98	$381.17 COP1,449,388.35	+1.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.53 PEN146.33	$158.55 COP602,889.46	+264.2%
Average			+48.2%

Lima vs. Santa Marta - Cost of housing

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pay 22.7% less for childcare

	Lima	Santa Marta
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$192.22 PEN646.14	$176.01 COP669,282.68	-8.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,215.29 PEN27,615.34	$5,176.07 COP19,681,890.38	-37.0%
Average			-22.7%

Lima vs. Santa Marta - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Santa Marta
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 PEN7.68	$1.04 COP3,936.38	-54.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.61 PEN8.79	$1.71 COP6,519.63	-34.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.71 PEN19.20	$2.85 COP10,825.04	-50.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.13 PEN104.64	$20.70 COP78,727.56	-33.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.14 PEN24.00	$5.18 COP19,681.89	-27.5%
Average			-40.1%

Lima vs. Santa Marta - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.5% more for clothing

	Lima	Santa Marta
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.07 PEN171.67	$55.21 COP209,940.16	+8.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.74 PEN120.13	$56.76 COP215,844.73	+58.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.99 PEN282.34	$123.76 COP470,594.48	+47.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.70 PEN281.36	$63.41 COP241,103.16	-24.2%
Average			+22.5%

Lima vs. Santa Marta - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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